Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes to drive for Ferrari in 2025, the English press announced this Thursday. Never has such a successful F1 driver made such a transfer, moreover to form a shock duo within the Scuderia.
Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari was a dream come true for many F1 fans. After 12 years at Mercedes, and while his current salary is estimated at 60 million euros per year, the seven-time world champion will join the Scuderia in 2025, announces the English press. For the year of his 40th birthday, the Briton will be dressed in red and the teammate of Charles Leclerc. This is quite simply the transfer of the century, perhaps even the biggest in the history of the premier discipline of motorsport. In the era of F1 more bankable than ever.
· A transfer from a seven-time world champion
This is literally unheard of. Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari is quite simply the best track record in the history of Formula 1 changing teams. Michael Schumacher’s arrival at Mercedes in 2010, six years following the last of his seven titles, cannot be compared. The German came out of retirement following spending three years away from the circuits.
The last biggest transfer was undoubtedly that of Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull to Ferrari in 2015, two years following his fourth crown. Before him, Lewis Hamilton was already a serious contender for the prize of the most exciting transfer with his signing for Mercedes in 2013. The German team was not yet in its best form, but the paddock knew that the 2008 world champion had not yet exploited its full potential following its thunderous debut.
The departure to Ferrari, however, lacks an ingredient present in other major transfers: Lewis Hamilton leaves without being the current world champion (unless he achieves it in 2024). On the other hand, this was the case for “Schumi” in 1996, leaving Benetton for a Scuderia Ferrari in full recovery. Ditto for Fernando Alonso, who almost scored a hat-trick despite his departure from Renault to McLaren in 2007. We should not forget Alain Prost in 1990, moving from McLaren to Ferrari in the midst of a rivalry with Ayrton Senna.
· Ferrari can compete with Red Bull
Ferrari’s last title dates back to 2008 (constructors) and there have been many disappointments since. The prancing horse even collapsed in 2020 with a poor 6th place out of 10. But since 2022, things have been much better. Last year, even if the Mercedes W14 missed out on 2nd place, the SF-23 performed well never being more than 0.8% of the time from pole position and even posting a better average in qualifying than Red Bull in the second part of the season. And, even if it’s a refrain, the pre-season echoes in Maranello are good.
· Ferrari remains Ferrari
In Montreal in 2016, Sebastian Vettel said: “Everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even when they are not, they are Ferrari fans.” Even though Red Bull and Mercedes have gained popularity over the last decade thanks to their success, Ferrari remains unbeatable and the representative of motorsport in the collective imagination. Which explains, for example, that it remains the most followed team on Instagram with 13 million followers despite the absence of recent titles. And with Lewis Hamilton, the already colossal legacy will take on even more depth.
· One or two are exciting
The transfer of Lewis Hamilton is also attractive in relation to the creation of a formidable duo with Charles Leclerc. Many have complained recently regarding the weakness of certain pairs in the paddock or the lack of competition within the same team. Recently, the fratricidal battles Hamilton-Rosberg, Ricciardo-Verstappen, Vettel-Leclerc and even Hamilton-Alonso have given the leaders concerned a cold sweat.
· A champion who is not finished
Since the Abu Dhabi 2021 controversy, Lewis Hamilton has not won a Grand Prix. This is largely due to Mercedes’ failure during the technical revolution of 2022, combined with the feats achieved by Red Bull over the past two years. Despite these obstacles and competition from George Russell, “King Lewis” showed several times that he was still capable of fighting on the track. He proved it once more last July with his pole in Hungary, but also with his 8 second places and 15 podiums during the two years that have just passed. If things go well for him, Lewis Hamilton can achieve what Vettel and Alonso failed to do, to collect a record eighth trophy. And end his career at the top?